Harshit Rana has continued to silence the critics. Just last month, the young pacer was labelled as a ‘yes-man’ of India head coach Gautam Gambhir after he was selected for India’s white-ball tour of Australia. From that moment onwards, Harshit has put on such stellar performances that these chirpy critics have hidden in their burrows.
He finished the Australia ODI series as the highest wicket-taker and showed his ability with the bat as well. After that, Harshit took 7 wickets in 3 matches for India A. In sublime form, the 23-year-old pacer wreaked havoc on South Africa’s top order in the Ranchi ODI.
Harshit Rana’s excellent new-ball bowling
In his first over, Harshit clean bowled Ryan Rickelton and then had Quinton de Kock caught behind. While wickets matter the most, the impressive bit was the ability he showed. We saw Harshit swing the ball more than Arshdeep Singh did. As a hit-the-deck bowler, Harshit also made the ball seam around.
The stark difference in the quality was astounding. At the bare minimum, one would expect Arshdeep to outfox batters with his swing, but to see Harshit one-up him in the department was an eye-opener for many. Unlike Arshdeep, Harshit is still raw and learning the trade of fast bowling in international cricket.
One also realises why the selectors and Gambhir have shown so much faith in him. Bowling in the 140s, Harshit dropped his pace to the 130s when he realised the ball wasn’t swinging at high speeds in his later overs in the powerplay. He shocked Tony de Zorzi with a sharp bumper as well.
The only gripe one could have is that KL Rahul should have given him an extended spell. Harshit finished the power play with the figures of 20/2 in 4 overs. But he could’ve easily bowled two more, and Prasidh Krishna should have come in later.
